What seemed to work in Richard III, placing Richard as a Totalitarian Dictator of the modern era, for this production of Macbeth placing Macbeth as European Dictator, just ends up being a mannered play. The pyrotechnics of the performers ends up drowning out the simplicity and directness of Shakespeare's message: the guilt of conscience placing limits on blind ambition. The Shakespeare script was memorable but something was lost in the over-dramatization. This is one of my favorite of Shakespeare's plays--one of the first I studied in high school. This performance will not stand the test of time in the same way that Ian McClellan's Richard III will.
There are really two different and distinct ideas Shakespeare presented. In Richard III--the play was about ruthless ambition, and ambition realized with ruthless, cold, calculating murder. Macbeth is about ruthless ambition AND conscience made palpable.
There are really two different and distinct ideas Shakespeare presented. In Richard III--the play was about ruthless ambition, and ambition realized with ruthless, cold, calculating murder. Macbeth is about ruthless ambition AND conscience made palpable.